Cook the Book: Turkey with Spicy Black Beans in Tofu Dumplings

Turkey with Spicy Black Beans in Tofu Dumplings is Anita Lo's adaptation of two favorite Chinese dishes, mapo tofu and steamed dumplings. By stuffing little rounds (or squares) of tofu with ground turkey mixed with scallions, fermented black beans, and doban djan, a Sichuan chile sauce, and steaming them, she's created little self-contained packages filled with all of the salty, spicy flavors that make mapo tofu so irresistible.

Adapted from Cooking Without Borders, this recipe has the added benefit of being no only quick to assemble (read even quicker than delivery from your local Sichuan joint) but also inexpensive and relatively light on the meat. Served with a pile of ginger and garlic sautéed greens, this is the kind of make at home Chinese dinner that might have you reconsidering your weekly takeout habit.

Procedures

1

With a melon baller, hollow out the tofu cubes, reserving 1 cup of the balls and putting them in a large bowl. To the balls, add the turkey, scallions, garlic, black beans, chile sauce, soy sauce, egg, cornstarch, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly (the tofu will break up). Liberally stuff into the tofu cubes so that the mixture is rounded above the tofu. Steam for about 5 minutes, until cooked through.

2

Make the dipping sauce: Combine all the ingredients and serve in 4 small dipping bowls alongside the tofu dumplings, which can be plated 3 per person.

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